


try your best, just like your father did

by Missuniverse5000bc



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Found Family, Mentions of the damerons, Multi, baby finn, they're both hot single dads because why not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29385396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missuniverse5000bc/pseuds/Missuniverse5000bc
Summary: As it turns out, Din isn't the only loving though somewhat clueless adoptive father. Luke Skywalker, 3 months before agreeing to train Grogu, adopted his own son - Finn.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 79
Kudos: 273





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Best Tears - The Happy Fits, it also has the line 'look cute in leather boots' and so I associate it with luke for literally no other reason

A month post their haphazard rescue mission on Moff Gideon’s Imperial cruiser and Din, who had been travelling rather aimlessly between comparatively easy odd-jobs, had been summoned back to Nevarro by an amused sounding Cara.

“Skywalker contacted me,” she explained when he entered her office, looking far too pleased.

_Was Din supposed to know who that was?_

He waited for her to continue but Cara somehow picked up on his confusion behind his visor. She raised an eyebrow in disbelief and when Din still didn’t respond she laughed.

“Your Jedi?”

That hadn’t been what Din was expecting, his surprise was quickly replaced by concern, however. 

“Is the kid alright?”

Cara took her feet off her desk and sat up. “Sounded like it, they've found somewhere to lay low and start training apparently” she slid a data chip across the desk “Coordinates. Go see for yourself” she grinned.

If she noticed Din’s hands shakily fumble with the data chip, which he wasn’t naive enough to believe there was any way she hadn’t, then she at least didn’t mention it to his face.

  
  
  
  


His current replacement for the Razorcrest was smaller and even more falling-to-pieces. It was hopefully just a placeholder till he found something more suitable, Moff Gideon’s bounty had given him a decent chunk of credits but Din was struggling to find a pre-empire ship that met all his requirements. If he was honest with himself some of his requirements were probably unrealistic and only making his search more difficult but the Razorcrest had become a home and that was a difficult thing to replace.

He guided the Replacement _almost_ smoothly into landing on the quiet jungle moon. Din hadn’t looked into Yavin 4 much other than its location in his eagerness to set off.

The clearing the instructions and map had directed him to was in a valley and a building that hadn’t been obvious from the atmosphere was now visible within the trees on higher ground.

The gangway lowered and almost immediately a hooded figure stepped out from the trees and Grogu toddled out from behind him.

Din rushed forwards to scoop him up, the kid babbled excitedly and patted his helmet whilst Din let out a shaky breath of relief. 

It was unclear how long he stood just holding Grogu before the Jedi, _Skywalker_ , cautiously approached, hood down.

“You made it” He stated calmly, “Grogu has been looking forward to seeing you”

“Uh” Din nodded awkwardly. What were you supposed to say to the mysterious sorcerer who took out an entire army of darktroopers the last time you met and who Din certainly wasn’t expecting to see again so soon? Not that he was complaining about any of that- it had been a long month without Grogu.

The Jedi didn’t seem concerned by his lack of real response though, he simply gestured for Din to follow him. 

“Come, let me show you where you can stay.”

Din stumbled after him and Grogu squirmed to regain Din’s attention. He relaxed again and reached into his pocket, returning the metal ball to Grogu’s grabby little hands. He was rewarded with a happy coo. 

  
  
  
  
  


The old building was fairly small but eerily quiet, they passed through a kitchen with a small table and high chair next to it and continued through a door into a dim corridor with more doors along either side. There had clearly been a lot of maintenance done recently as even though the outside of the building had looked aged, the inside was homely.

Din followed carefully down the short corridor with Grogu tucked against his chest. Skywalker led him to the open door at the very end and walked straight inside though Din found himself hesitating awkwardly in the doorway once he realised it was clearly the Jedi’s bedroom. 

An unmade bed with a few open books stood by the wall, a chest of drawers beside it. The room wasn’t cluttered but there was a scattering of knick-knacks that covered a few of the shelves and surfaces. Most surprisingly, however, was the two small cribs that sat against the other wall, the domed droid from the ship stood watch beside one of them. Din eyed it sceptically from beneath his helmet but Grogu seemed happy to see it, grasping a hand towards it excitedly. 

The Jedi glanced back over his shoulder, “The other rooms we passed are empty - you can take your pick and I’ll move Grogu’s bed in there for you” he gestured to the empty cot with his gloved hand.

Din nodded absently, watching as Skywalker reached into the other crib to adjust the blanket of a small presumably human baby, short dark curls coiled tightly were visible on the top of its head and there was a serene expression on its sleeping face.

“You have another student?” Din questioned softly, he hadn't been sure before arriving whether Jedi training was a one-on-one thing or whether, given how few remained, Grogu would be part of a class of some sort. The building had seemed empty apart from Skywalker and his droid so far.

Skywalker shook his head. “Oh no, well not yet. Finn is too young to train.” he smiled softly. 

“But you look after him?” 

_Would a parent really give up their child so young before their training even needed to begin?_ Din wondered.

“He’s my son,” Skywalker said simply. There was clearly more to it, but a wave of understanding passed between the two and that was answer enough for Din. 

"This is the way" he responded sincerely, on reflex. Fortunately, the Jedi did not comment on his unusual reaction and only smiled kindly.

  
  
  
  
  


Grogu had kept Din entertained for most of the afternoon, showing him various things he must have collected from outside. True to his word Skywalker had moved the crib to sit within the empty room that Din had selected and put a pile of blankets and sheets onto the bed there. He had then, politely, excused himself for a bit to give them time alone.

Satisfied that it was now just him and Grogu, Din had taken off his helmet to his son’s delight. Grogu put his silver ball onto his little pillow and took a stick, as tall as he was, out of his crib to show Din. He smiled fondly as Grogu tapped it on every surface in the room. Seeing Grogu with this much carefree energy reminded Din of Sorgan and the children there, it was a relief to know Grogu could stop hiding and living on the run now. If Din still had any doubts about making the right choice in sending him with the Jedi they were gone now.

Through the window the sky was growing dark, Din sat up as Grogu’s ears perked up and he turned towards the door before the knock even sounded. He put his helmet back on immediately before going to open it. 

The Jedi looked a lot less mysterious without his cloak, in looser belted robes and with Finn on his hip, his other hand still raised as Din swung the door open.

“Ah, there’s dinner ready in the kitchen, you’re welcome to take it back to your room though - of course,” Skywalker rushed, for the first time seeming slightly awkward himself. 

“Thank you” Din felt Grogu brush past his leg and disappear down the corridor, headed for the kitchen. Din chuckled as Grogu lead the way for the rest of them, still as food-focused as ever.

  
  
  
  
  


For Grogu’s sake Din sat at the table with everyone, he would take his plate to his room afterwards and instead focused on cutting Grogu’s food for him. The little menace would probably have been happy to scarf it down in one go but Din wasn’t going to look like he hadn’t taught his son _any_ manners.

Skywalker sat beside him, alternating between his own food and feeding Finn spoonfuls of mashed vegetables, with varying levels of success. If anything Finn was even more inclined to play with his food than Grogu normally was, though, on the other hand, he probably never went after live frogs.

“Oh, Finn” He sighed as Finn, clearly done with dinner for today, tipped his bowl off his high chair onto the floor.

The sound of the bowl hitting the floor never came though, instead, Skywalker levitated the bowl and its contents back onto the table out of reach.

“That must be a useful trick to have” Din smirked.

“I think I’d spend the majority of my days cleaning up messes without it” Skywalker chuckled “and the rest of my time calling my sister for advice”

He grimaced suddenly, “Not that I don’t do that anyway, I didn’t know anything about babies until four months ago... At least Leia still has another couple months to prepare for hers” He rested his head in his hand, talking almost to himself at this point.

Honestly, he seemed kind of lost and Din wasn’t quite sure what to do with that. 

“How did you find Finn?” He hoped to distract the man from his spiralling.

Thankfully it seemed to work. Skywalker looked up to face him at least.

  
  


“A few months before I felt Grogu’s call I was investigating an old Imperial base. They had taken a handful of young children from the nearby villages they were exploiting, as future recruits as far as I can tell… Or hostages to stop the villagers from fighting back?” he speculated. 

“The other children had family they could be returned to, but Finn, his parents must have died trying to stop him from being taken and there was no one else. Some of the other villages were intact enough to begin to rebuild but Finn’s was almost entirely destroyed.“

“So you took him with you?” Din confirmed.

“Yes,” Skywalker shrugged like it was the most obvious course of action. Maybe it was. “He’s force sensitive, but he might not necessarily want to become a Jedi. Whatever he decides he has a home here. I felt a connection - I couldn’t leave him alone”

It was hard to believe that any child that grew up around the Jedi wouldn’t want to do the things he could but the sentiment was honourable regardless. Not so dissimilar from the foundlings choice to swear the creed. 

  
  


“Has it just been you two living out here? Before Grogu joined you?” 

Maybe the Jedi wasn’t lost, just a bit lonely. Being powerful and mysterious probably came hand in hand with that.

“Just us and Artoo” He nodded towards the droid. “My sister, Leia, she visits when she can with her husband Han and another two friends of mine from the Rebellion - Chewie and Lando but they’re based in the Core and it's hard for them to get time off to come out here.” He explained.

“I do have friends a few hours away, the other side of the moon where the settlements are, they were Rebellion too. They have a son now, 4 years old, and they look after Finn if ever I need to leave. Actually, their son was the one who suggested the name 'Finn'”

He scooped Finn out of his high chair as he spoke, holding him close against his shoulder.

Din watched the pair for a moment, “I think you’re doing a good job” he complimented gruffly. 

Skywalker blinked in surprise, “Thank you,” he breathed. “So are you” he smiled at Grogu, asleep peacefully after his evening meal, resting in Din’s lap.

Din smiled - even if no one else could see it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Not wanting to out-stay his welcome, Din left after three days. He had nowhere he needed to be but equally he didn’t want to interrupt Grogu’s training schedule too much or force the Jedi to have to request he leave.

“Be good for Mister Skywalker” He pressed his helmet to Grogu’s forehead before passing him over to the Jedi.

“Luke” Skywalker corrected, so softly that Din almost missed it.

Without quite meaning to he found himself offering his own name in return, “Din” he spoke before he could change his mind.

Luke repeated it softly, and Din found he didn’t regret giving the Jedi his name.

Luke looked down at his feet - almost shy, “We’ll see you soon?” he questioned and Grogu squeaked.

“Yes.” The certainty in his own reply reassured Din more than anything as he returned to his ship.


	2. Chapter 2

The first time Din realised Luke trusted him with Finn he was a few days into his third visit in the past two months. It wasn't unusual for Luke to put Finn down for a nap with his angry little droid watching over him whilst he trained Grogu outside nearby. Sometimes instead he would bring Finn out with them, letting him sit and watch from his baby carrier. Since Finn wasn't quite crawling yet he was much easier to trust to stay put, unlike Grogu who was prone to escaping to follow various bugs and creatures.

Today the little droid was nowhere in sight and Luke and Grogu were sitting with eyes closed as they lifted frighteningly large rocks around them.

Luke had asked simply if Din wouldn't mind keeping an eye on Finn whilst they practised and Din had agreed easily. It was no effort to accept the responsibility of watching over him, in return for Luke’s attention being focused on his own son it was the least he could do.

When Finn began to fuss, blinking his big brown eyes a few times and looking around, Din carefully scooped him up. He was sat propped against a tree nearby, now with Finn in his arms, and was mindful to lift the blanket too so that his Beskar wouldn’t be uncomfortable against the kid’s skin. If Finn was uneasy about their new guest he didn’t show it, he seemed perfectly content to let Din hold him, entranced by the hovering rocks moving around the Jedi and his padawan across from them. 

Finn waved his hand towards them, flexing his little fingers and looking up at Din like he was checking that Din was watching too. 

“Yes, very impressive. Maybe it will be your turn soon.”

Finn smiled at him,

“ _Patoo_ ” 

Din choked back a laugh. The mannerism was so identical to Grogu that there was no doubt who he’d learned that from.

The rocks remained steady and Grogu’s expression didn’t falter but Luke opened his eyes to look over at Din, meeting his gaze somehow. He smiled softly. It was strangely nice to see him so relaxed.

When their session was finished, the pair lowered the rocks in harmony. They spoke very little during any of the training sessions Din had observed, instead communicating as Ahsoka had with Grogu in a way that Din still didn’t truly understand. Despite his confusion at their methods, Din was impressed at Grogu’s attention span lasting as long as it did. The kid had certainly learned some amount of patience during his time with Luke, only subject to exceptions when it came to food and his own visits. 

Din stood when Luke did, following him back inside for lunch. Grogu sat happily perched on Luke’s shoulders, tiny hands grabbing at his blonde hair in a way that could hardly be comfortable. Luke, patient as ever, didn’t seem like he was about to complain though and they swapped back easily enough when they entered the kitchen, Finn returned to his father’s arms and Grogu back in Din’s, marvelling at how seamlessly he had slipped into a routine here.

Finn was placed carefully on a mat in the empty space on the other side of the kitchen where he rolled happily from side to side. After tugging at his father’s sleeve Grogu pattered over to run in circles around him, occasionally bringing toys over from the little box in the corner.

It must be good for the kid, to learn to play and share with someone closer to his own age, he mused. Well, relatively speaking that was, Din preferred not to dwell on the fact his son was older than he was technically.

Instead, he sat and watched his son fondly, he’d been planning on saying his goodbyes and heading off this evening, but perhaps he would extend his stay just another couple of days. He felt less like he was interrupting by being here than he had on his first visit, he would just have to find some other ways of helping out to make up for his longer stay.

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Luke awoke early the following morning, changed into his robes, and checked on Finn who was thankfully still sleeping after waking up once in the middle of the night. He slept far more regular hours nowadays than he had when Luke had first taken him in, a fact Luke was incredibly grateful for, but occasionally he still struggled. 

This morning’s routine was more or less the same as usual except that when Luke reached out through the Force he was surprised to feel that Din and Grogu were already awake somewhere further down the hall.

He was used to being first awake most days, though he assumed Din was more than used to keeping odd hours as a bounty hunter too. The Mandalorian generally took advantage of sleeping in to a more reasonable hour and would emerge slightly later in the morning, always in time for Grogu’s training to begin whilst Luke preferred to get up with plenty of time to do any reading or errands beforehand. It was also easier to fall asleep at night if he got up early and packed his day full.

Today, however, he found the Mandalorian in the kitchen already awake, already in full armor, and making a pot of caf with one hand with Grogu happily eating a meiloorun in his other arm. 

“Sorry” Din sounded sheepish as he approached the man, “Grogu was wide awake and insisted he was hungry”

“It's fine, you’re welcome to use whatever you can find in the kitchen” Luke reassured.

He accepted the cup of caf Din offered him, though it wasn’t his usual choice he wasn’t complaining after his disturbed sleep.

Taking his words to heart, Din began heating a pan on the stove and picking ingredients out of the cupboard. Luke looked away as Din began to tilt his helmet up, just enough to take a sip of caf. He wasn’t facing Luke anyway, his back to the table where Luke sat and his focus on the counter in front of him, but it felt disrespectful to watch him. 

He hadn’t directly asked but Luke had picked up enough context clues that the Mandalorian did not generally remove his helmet in front of other people and that the incident on the Imperial cruiser had been an isolated one. An exception for a father to say goodbye to his son, Luke still had some guilt over not realising at the time the gravity of the situation. Getting Grogu out of danger had been his priority and whilst he figured it would take a little while to get settled he always intended on reaching out to the Mandalorian afterwards, as he had done. Grogu undoubtedly would not have agreed to come with him to train if he hadn’t been aware of this either.

Luke snapped out of his thoughts, gazing blearily at the plate that had been placed in front of him. 

“Thank you” He hoped he didn’t sound too surprised.

Din nodded stiffly, hovering awkwardly with his own plate in hand. 

“I’ll just…” he hesitated, gesturing vaguely towards the door.

Luke just smiled around a mouthful of egg, watching as Din left, returning to his room to eat in private.

By the time Luke had washed his plate and returned to his own room, washing and dressing Finn for the day, Din and Grogu had returned to the kitchen. Luke joined them and fed his son, it was still earlier than his usual schedule for training so he relaxed into a seat at the table across from Din once again with Finn wiggling on his lap.

Everything was peaceful, a comfortable silence fell between the grown-ups in the room and soft babbling came from both kids. They responded to each other's nonsense as if conversing and though Luke knew there was no way they could understand each other it was rather sweet.

  
  
  


Luke snapped his gaze out the window, unintentionally breaking the peace, both Grogu and Finn mimicked him. He felt Din’s confusion across the table.

_Leia?_

His own confusion overtook him, she had not called ahead which whilst not completely unheard of _was_ unusual but, he was reassured by a wave of calm across their force bond - no emergency then.

"My sister is here," he explained to Din quickly looking around for his boots.

Din took Finn from his arms wordlessly, allowing Luke to pull his boots on with an awkward hop and rush down the path to meet Leia.

She was already out of her sleek New Republic ship and heading towards him as Luke raced down the hill to hug her. Chewie enveloped them both in his arms almost immediately after.

"I sent Han on an errand with Lando, he's reached an overbearing level of mother hen-ing" Leia explained before Luke could ask.

Chewie growled in agreement. 

"I understand he's nervous about the baby but I need some space or I'll combust"

Han did seem to be barely holding it together the last time Luke had spoken with him. Luke imagined that was how he had sounded in all his holocalls the first month after adopting Finn though, so he could only tease so much. 

He was proud of his friend really, he had come a long way in facing his instinct to run early on in the rebellion. Instead, he was quite the doting father-to-be even foregoing his usual adventures but Leia, being Leia, didn’t quite know what to do with all the attention. Whilst she was secretly pleased she was also more than capable of looking after herself and so felt the need to take a break every now and then to prove this.

As they slowly approached the old building, it was a steep hill even without being almost 9 months pregnant, Leia had already sensed the extra presence inside and raised an eyebrow in question.

“Grogu’s father” Luke shrugged, Leia was immediately full of further questions that Luke was sure he would soon be made to answer.

She paused on the path not too far from the door, through the window they now had a decent view of Din with both children on his knee talking to them in a low voice, both children were focused on whatever story he was telling them. 

"Luke…" she sighed.

“I know, I know” he could see where this was going.

Leia rolled her eyes, “Last time I visited you had somehow acquired a baby, and now what? You've found a hot Mandalorian boyfriend to co-parent your child?"

Luke rolled his eyes in return, "You're exaggerating. Look, he's Grogu's father and he happens to be good with kids. That's all there is to it”

Admittedly, the sight of Din so at home with both children _was_ rather endearing, and whilst he hadn’t paid that much attention the first time they met - distracted by darktroopers and a Force-sensitive child in danger, he was undoubtedly handsome even in helmet and full armor. 

Luke wasn't afraid to admit that to himself even though his sister was radiating amusement even without needing their Force bond,

"I don't even know him that well!” he insisted. The last thing he needed was Leia believing there was actually something between them other than one-sided attraction on Luke’s part. Presumably one-sided. In fairness, Din was rather hard to read most of the time.

His sister did not grant him a reply anyway, only turned and marched ahead to the front door determined to make her own mind up. Chewie ruffled Luke’s hair fondly before following her and Luke was pretty sure the Wookiee was barely holding in a laugh.

Luke sighed, and it was only a little bit dramatically.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think


	3. Chapter 3

Din sat up straighter as Luke returned with his sister, a short, formidable-looking woman. With her, surprisingly, was a Wookiee who towered over the pair of them.

The woman looked at Luke expectantly, who rushed to break the silence.

"Well, uh, this is my sister - Leia and this is my friend Chewbacca" he gestured in turn, "and this is Grogu's dad" his gaze turned back to Din.

"Mando" Din offered, hoping that would be enough.

If Leia thought this was unusual her face showed no sign of it, she stepped forward and kindly took Finn from him, leaving Din free to stand up and shake hands politely. The Wookiee shook his hand afterwards along with most of his arm too though it seemed to be a friendly gesture rather than a threat. Din admittedly wasn't entirely sure though, his past interactions with Wookiees were limited.

Grogu scrambled out of his hold and up onto Din’s shoulder to get a closer look at Chewbacca and was rewarded with the Wookiee offering his hand to Grogu so he could pat the fur there. Satisfied, Grogu reached his arms up in a request to be picked up.

"He likes to be tall," Din explained. The Wookiee roared happily and lifted Grogu up carefully, the kid squealed in delight, and Din untensed his shoulders imperceptibly. 

Luke quickly excused himself to drag more chairs into the room and Din suddenly regretted imposing himself for longer than he’d meant to. Luke didn’t need him crowding the place when he had his own guests to attend to.

"I didn’t mean to intrude on your family, If I'd known I would've left yesterday" Din apologised as Leia sat down and Luke returned with another chair and a stool from one of the empty rooms. 

"No no, my fault for not calling ahead. Please, don't leave on my behalf I only intended a brief visit - I have a meeting with some Naboo Representatives tomorrow that I'll have to return for anyway"

Din had no idea what Leia's job was but from her tone it sounded hectic, and important. She was presumably some New Republic bureaucrat or dignitary judging by her smart outfit and general posture. He also got the feeling that Leia wasn’t someone many people were capable of saying ‘no’ to so he resisted his immediate urge to leave.

“Are you considering taking a proper break from work at any point?” Luke complained

Leia waved off his concern, “The baby’s not due for another few weeks, I’ll rest closer to the time”

Chewbacca said something in response which Din couldn’t quite translate.

“Chewie’s right, no you won't” Luke laughed. “Did you at least narrow down a name yet?”

“Breha, I think, after my mother. Don’t get me started on middle names though...” 

Din had barely had time to register the unusual choice of ‘my’ mother rather than ‘our’ even though directed at her brother but Luke clarified quickly,

“I was raised by my aunt and uncle on Tatooine, Leia was adopted and raised on Alderaan”

Din wasn’t going to pry into the details of their early childhood that had forced their unusual separation, but he respected the pair as fellow foundlings of a sort. 

“I’m sorry,” Din said sincerely, seeing a similar pain in Leia’s eyes to Cara’s when they had first met, “I know someone from Alderaan”

Leia's somber expression was replaced by genuine surprise, “Really?"

Din nodded. “Cara Dune, she's based on Nevarro now"

“Oh, the Marshal I contacted!" Luke realised.

"I will reach out, there aren't many of us" Leia assured, losing her calm and collected mask for a moment and looking somehow younger yet wearier all at once. The similarity to Luke became much clearer at that moment too, both carried a large weight on their shoulders and Din realised he barely knew a fraction of it.

Chewie patted her shoulder sadly.

“I still think I got the better end of the stick, after visiting Tatooine I just know I couldn't have dealt with all that sand growing up” 

Leia returned the conversation in a lighter direction almost effortlessly.

"I’ve been, it's…" Din trailed off not knowing how to summarise his experiences with the desert planet, that was clearly answer enough though as Luke laughed. “I have friends there though" he clarified, thinking of Peli and Cobb in particular though perhaps Fennec and Boba too now they had settled there. It was a stretch to insist they were merely allies at this point.

"I haven't been back since the war if I'm honest" Luke admitted "it wasn't exactly a leisure visit either"

"Hmm, it was hardly a vacation" Leia agreed.

Din couldn’t help but add "It's improving though, somewhat recently. A friend of mine, who helped protect Grogu, took over Jabba's palace. He's trying to clear out all the slavers"

All three raised their eyebrows at the mention of the Hutt.

"You have a bad run-in with Jabba or something?" he questioned.

Leia and Luke shared a look. "You could say that" 

"We broke into his palace once to save my now-husband, Han"

Even that had reached Din’s radar, especially now he had met Boba. "That was you three??"

"Us and Lando" They confirmed.

"And you managed to kill Jabba?" he stressed again.

  
  


Luke beamed. "Well, _that_ was Leia"

Din's eyes went wide beneath his helmet. "You killed _Jabba the Hutt?_ " He repeated in shock.

He was impressed, the rumours that Jabba had been slain had been quite the topic within the Guild but no one’s description of who the Hutt-slayer was had matched up with the woman sat across from him. Leia simply smirked.

“I heard he'd been killed, even if I didn't take bounties from him” Jabba’s most wanted were too involved in the Empire’s business and the war when he had been trying to lay low. His covert’s secrecy was his priority back then.

“Shame, you might have come across my husband” Leia joked whilst carefully ungrasping Finn’s fingers from her necklace.

Luke passed his son one of his wooden blocks to distract him from Leia’s delicate jewellery.

“Who took over the palace?”

“Fett. Boba Fett” Din clarified after Chewie growled in confusion.

Luke blanched " _Boba Fett_ is alive??"

Chewie roared, anguished, and Grogu patted his face in comfort.

“He was the one who had collected the bounty on Han when we went to rescue him. We thought Boba Fett was killed when he, er, fell into the Sarlacc pit in the chaos.” Luke tried to explain.

“He told me he escaped the Sarlacc pit afterwards, I found his armor when looking for other Mandalorians. In return, he helped protect Grogu.” Din relayed cautiously. Thankfully, this calmed the group a bit, Din wasn't eager to have to prevent a fight between the two powerful parties when both had played their parts in helping Grogu.

“Let’s just hope Han doesn’t find out, I’m sure he’d hold more of a grudge” Luke conceded, to the agreement of the rest of the table.

After that revelation Din managed to, not too awkwardly, excuse himself to take Grogu for a walk and let the rest of them catch up more privately. That was more than enough excitement for one morning.

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  
  


It felt good to spend the day catching up with Leia and Chewie despite the timing of their visit. Hopefully, Din wasn’t too uncomfortable, he seemed to like Leia and Chewie well enough but he was constantly concerned he may be intruding. Luke would try and convince him it was fine again later.

R2 rolled into the room sometime after noon, angrily beeping that Luke hadn’t told him there were visitors.

“I was about to go get you - you were busy charging!” 

R2 continued his backtalk, swerving around Luke to greet Leia instead. 

“I know you’re not just a baby monitor” Luke rolled his eyes, “I _do_ appreciate you!”

R2 whirred sceptically.

“Has Luke been too distracted by the Mandalorian, hm?” Leia sympathised as R2 rolled around her beeping his agreement, the traitor.

“Artoo...” Luke loved the little droid, but honestly, he was such a snitch.

“Hmm… I suppose you’re right - he does have a nice voice though” Leia conceded as they heard Din returning, speaking to Grogu about maybe not tormenting the local wildlife quite so much.

Luke sighed in agreement. It was a _very_ nice voice.

  
  
  


It was thankfully a less hectic evening meal, steered back onto safer topics like how much Finn had grown and how Grogu’s training was going. Din sat on the floor by the baby mat with Chewie, Finn, and Grogu as Luke cleared the dishes away and Leia ‘supervised’. She had shooed Din away from the table and insisted she would help Luke clear up instead.

Luke wasn’t sure her comments truly counted as helping, but he was unlikely to win an argument against his sister at the best of times. At least Din seemed more at ease again now, stopping Grogu from trying to climb R2D2 for the one-thousandth time with mild amusement in his tone. 

Leia refrained from teasing him this time around, instead, she touched his hand gently and smiled.

“ _He’s good for you_ ” 

“ _We’re not together_ ” Luke returned.

“I know. But his company is good for you, you don’t have to do everything by yourself” Leia said aloud, soft enough that only Luke would hear.

Thankfully, Leia didn’t seem to be expecting a coherent response now that she’d made her point. She let Luke return to clearing away and rejoined the others, giving him a moment to himself.

By the time Leia and Chewie set off again that evening, with Leia still determined to get some sleep in hyperspace and be ready for her meeting the following morning, Luke headed straight for bed. Din may have still been awake but he hadn’t emerged from his room so Luke left him to it.

With Finn in his cot and Artoo powered down for the night, Luke shrugged off his robes and into his loose sleepwear then collapsed into bed.

  
  
  
  
  


Finn’s cries pulled Luke abruptly out of his dream, he dragged his hand across his eyes quickly and was surprised to find them wet. He stumbled over to Finn’s crib to pick him up.

He was still horribly disorientated and it was becoming more and more likely that he had cried out in his own sleep and woken Finn himself, a wave of guilt washed over him. Fortunately, he remembered very little of his dream but his body held the stress of a nightmare and the unneeded adrenaline was making him shake a little. Calming Finn down now was almost impossible, they were stuck in a negative feedback loop - his own anxiety was being picked up by the baby whose cries were keeping Luke on edge as he breathed unevenly. 

Normally he was able to soothe Finn back to sleep without too much fuss but right now his chest was tight and his vision blurry. He tried desperately to hold back his own sob at how helpless the situation felt, it was barely muffled by Finn’s unselfconscious wails. He couldn’t bear to put Finn down as he screamed more whenever Luke tried but holding him wasn’t helping Luke either, Finn’s misery overwhelmed him through the Force and he couldn’t calm his own feelings enough to help soothe them both. 

  
  


Din found them like that, both crying as Luke held Finn to his chest. 

“I’m sorry, I tried knocking but-” He whispered from the doorway.

Luke tried in vain to wipe his face but he was clearly a mess. Din took Finn in one arm and wrapped Luke in the other, letting him hide his face against his soft sleep shirt. His helmet was in place but none of the rest of his armour given the early hour.

Din’s presence was something else to focus on, steady and warm. Distracting both Finn and himself. When Luke eventually felt Finn drifting back to sleep Din placed him gently back in the cot.

Luke kept his face pressed against Din’s shoulder as he guided him to sit down, feeling the blankets pulled over his legs as he relaxed back against Din. Slowing his breathing more easily now and untensing his muscles as best he could.

When he next opened his eyes, his head felt stuffy after falling asleep so soon after crying but that was the only real reminder of the night before. Din’s shoulder had been replaced by a pillow and the man himself must have slipped out after checking Luke was asleep.

The Mandalorian was taking a call outside when Luke entered the kitchen, trying to push down any embarrassment as he resisted the instinct to flee or avoid Din. 

Fortunately, or unfortunately, there was no real chance for Din to bring up what had happened. Luke wasn’t sure if he was relieved by that or not.

“I have a job offer from a friend, on Nevarro” Din explained reluctantly when he returned inside and spotted Luke, “He’s helped me out before, and I…”

Luke cut him off. “It's okay, go help your friend” he hoped he looked collected enough that Din would believe him. He really didn’t want to stop him from helping someone in need of it. 

Luke's feet held him frozen where he stood as Din approached cautiously. He didn’t speak but he squeezed Luke's shoulder for a few long seconds in gratitude or perhaps in comfort. Luke felt a wash of affection through the force that could just have easily been his own as from Din before the Mandalorian moved to say goodbye to Grogu and collect his spear from his room.

  
  


Outside the air was humid already but the temperature was only mild.

“You sure you’ll be alright?” Din checked, again, hesitating by the gangway to his ship.

Luke smiled softly, he had to reassure him one last time that he would be absolutely fine before Din finally entered his ship and disappeared off into the atmosphere.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a further month since Din’s last visit and Luke’s embarrassment had mostly faded, replaced by the gratefulness that he had not been alone that night - even if it meant Din seeing him at a particularly vulnerable moment.

Din had comm'd at least twice a week since then to check up on him though always trying not to sound like that was what he was doing. Luke appreciated it more than he probably should have and, reluctantly, he had to admit that it had given him something to look forward to. As much as he loved his days with Finn and Grogu he was in dire need of conversation with another grown-up. 

When Din did finally return to Yavin, Luke couldn’t have been more relieved. He was outside and waiting for him the moment Din descended from his ship.

“Oh good, hold this one will you” he immediately handed Grogu over, Finn babbled at the sight of the Mandalorian from where he was already carried on Luke’s back.

“Been causing trouble?” Din bounced Grogu gently, turning his helmet back towards Luke after a moment.

“Both of them. Finn is crawling now” he said in explanation.

“Ah.” 

Luke could hear the grimace in Din’s voice.

“ _Ah_.” Luke mimicked. He had spent the past week feeling very proud of his son whilst frantically checking all of the necessary baby-proofing in the house. Now Finn was able to follow Grogu on his escape attempts, not that Grogu ever went too far, but his penchant for finding unusual things to eat was something that Luke could do without Finn copying. Whilst Luke was always immediately aware of any escape attempts, the kids knew how to pick their moments and with enough energy, Grogu was capable of using the force to unlock doors. 

Din followed Luke into the house, scolding Grogu softly with no real heat to it. Grogu would simply blink his big eyes at his father and he was forgiven anyway. As they crossed the room Din stopped by Finn's play mat expectantly. Luke paused before realising after a beat that Din wanted to see Finn's newly acquired talent for himself, he took Finn off of his back by unwrapping his sling-style carrier.

Naturally, Finn decided that he would actually rather just sit now that he had an audience, a picture of innocence with no plans of escaping. 

Din chuckled and crouched nearby, holding out one of Finn’s stuffed toys from his mat. Finn considered the little loth cat for a moment.

“C'mon Finn, if you want the toy you have to come get it” Din offered, with an unbearable level of softness. Luke almost sighed. _Almost._

Mind made up, Finn leaned forward onto his hands and crawled over the short space to Din. 

“Good job, kid.” He placed the toy in Finn’s hands who accepted it happily by putting it straight into his mouth. Luke was surprised by the strong sense of pride he felt from the Mandalorian. 

  
  


"How was the job?" Luke broke the silence before he was caught gaping at the man, trying to distract himself with the change of topic more than anything.

"More complicated than it should have been - but successful" Din shrugged.

He stood up, letting Grogu toddle around Finn. "How have you been?"

"We’ve been fine, don’t worry they haven't been that much trouble really -- nothing I couldn't manage" Luke reassured him.

"And how are _you_?" He stressed again, stepping closer to Luke and only stopping when he was right before him.

"I'm good, honestly," Luke insisted, his reflection stared back at him from the beskar helmet he looked up at.

Din clasped his left hand cautiously, the warm leather felt rough against his skin. The moment dragged on, neither speaking as Din watched him carefully. The smile that had crept onto Luke’s face really was genuine and he hoped that was enough to reassure Din.

"-Good." Din cleared his throat finally. "That's good."

  
  
  


They sat down for a fairly peaceful lunch after that, Luke felt the calmness he was starting to connect with Din's visits. The reassurance that there was someone else on hand to help, whether it was needed or not, was warm in his chest.

Luke hadn't planned on training Grogu that day anyway, other than their morning meditation, as he had errands to run on Yavin's main settlement. He usually skipped training on the first day of Dins' visits anyway, allowing Grogu to catch up with his father without distractions.

He relayed his plans for the afternoon, intending to leave Din with Grogu for a bit,

“I need to take Finn to the settlement this afternoon, there’s a medic there who is going to give him another check-up, it's been a little while since his last” and since Luke was pretty much constantly worried Finn was behind or missing out because Luke didn't know enough about babies he really didn’t want to delay it any further.

Din nodded, surprising him. "When are we setting off?" 

"In an hour?” Luke suggested, after a few seconds of recovery. “I have a speeder 'round the side” 

It fit two adults side by side, rather like the one his family had owned on Tatooine - they would just need to sit with Finn and Grogu on their laps. On that train of thought perhaps Luke would consider locating a second in future though since Din’s visits were becoming longer and Finn would only grow bigger.

  
  
  
  
  


The doctor Luke had contacted was an older Twi-lek woman assisted by a repaired medic droid from off-world. Luke had visited a few times after Finn’s rescue and Vida was already aware of the unusual circumstances around Finn’s adoption minus the specific details. She too was ex-rebellion and had come back out of retirement to become something of a local healer after settling on Yavin, stating that she had needed something to keep her occupied besides her gardening anyway. She didn’t object to or even question Din’s presence during the check-up, just began her usual inquiries on Finn’s general health.

After weighing his son and jotting some last things down, she smiled. Luke hadn’t realised he’d been holding his breath until that moment.

“Well, his weight and development level seem to match up with our estimate that he’s about 9 or 10 months old” the doctor confirmed.

Luke nodded, they would have to pick an exact day for Finn’s official date of birth if they wanted to celebrate his first birthday in a couple of months...

"Is he doing alright for his age?” Luke fretted.

Vida laughed kindly, “Yes - if you can manage it you can stop worrying so much. He’s doing just fine, _you’re doing a good job_.” 

Luke smiled, relieved enough that he almost missed how Vida looked to both of them as she said that last part. Luke, for certainly not the first time, wished he could see Din’s reaction. He was comforted that Din’s presence in the force didn’t display any embarrassment, only calm contentment.

"What about this little ‘un?” She gestured to Grogu, half-hidden behind Din’s cape.

"He's fine." Din insisted, uncomfortable. Given what Din had told him about Doctor Pershing, Luke understood that Din was wary - even after seeing Finn’s check-up go smoothly. 

Vida simply nodded, backing off gently “If you change your mind, you know where to find me”

“Thank you,” Din muttered sincerely, Luke echoed the sentiment. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Din followed Luke without complaint from the Doctor’s place to a small market. He was happy to have a relatively simple task after the past few weeks. Karga’s actual job had been a reasonably simple bounty, it had just taken time to track down all three of the prisoners who had split up soon after leaving Nevarro. There had been other _complications_ however in the form of Bo-Katan, she had heard he would be returning to Nevarro and had been waiting for him there with an ultimatum that Din was refusing to think about for now.

Din banished that line of thought and instead diverted his attention to Luke who was chatting easily with a stall owner who handed over a crate of assorted fruit and vegetables. Din stepped in to carry it since Luke had Finn, and Grogu was happy to walk here, as long as Din kept him in his line of sight.

It had been a relief to return to Yavin and Din found he didn’t mind the mundane errands as he followed Luke. The Jedi was in his element making friendly conversation with the locals, his serious persona miles away in that moment. The settlement itself was only small, filled with a handful of ex-rebellion members, their families, and farmland so Luke seemed to be acquainted with most of those who lived here.

When Luke turned his attention back to Din he spoke cheerfully about potentially planting their own food in the garden, the assumed ‘we’ made Din smile fondly. Being almost effortlessly part of Luke’s routine here made it feel like they had almost merged their two clans. On his first visit he had been a visitor, always aware he must be intruding on their lives and their training schedule but now, surprising himself really, he felt no such fear.

A woman called out to Luke as they were leaving, human and with messy, dark hair. She greeted Luke and Finn warmly before spying Grogu behind Din’s legs.

“Is this Grogu?” She gasped.

She crouched down in front of him, touching Grogu’s hand softly.

“Shara Bey, nice to meet you, and this is my son - Poe” she gestured to the small boy, with equally messy dark hair, holding onto her hand. Din assumed this was the family Luke had mentioned, who he trusted to babysit Finn when he had to leave Yavin.

“Who’s your Mandalorian in shining armor?” Shara raised her eyebrow at Luke when she stood up again.

Luke coughed, “This is Grogu’s dad, Mando” he explained once he’d recovered.

Din felt the same warmth he always did when referred to as Grogu’s father with an added layer of amusement at Luke’s embarrassment.

Shara offered him a smile, “And here I was worried Luke had just gotten too high and mighty to carry his own shopping anymore”

“Hey!” Luke laughed. 

“Not quite yet anyway” Din added, Shara let out a pleased chuckle.

“You should come for dinner again sometime, all of you” She suggested, 

“I can show Finn and Grogu my toy ships! And my paints!” Poe piped up as Luke agreed to contact Shara later to try and arrange something.

Din mostly just observed for the rest of their conversation, but he said his goodbyes politely when the pair left with a wave. He could see Poe excitedly tugging at his mother’s sleeve as they left, still talking cheerfully.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Thank you for coming with me, you didn’t have to” Luke smiled as they put the food away together upon their return to the house.

“I wanted to,” Din reassured easily. 

They returned to silence, Luke seemed like he was pondering something though.

  
  


“I'm glad you’re back,” He finally said after the last item was put away.

“Me too” Din replied gruffly.

“...Grogu missed you” Luke added, the Jedi sounded surprisingly bashful. 

Din smiled though Luke wouldn't see it, perhaps it was obvious from his voice “I missed you all as well.”

Luke blushed and looked at the floor, it was _sweet_ and Din immediately wanted to make that happen again.

It _was_ true though, He had been worried about all three of them whilst he was gone. He had felt the shift that this time he wasn't returning for Grogu alone but for all of them. That night before he left he had wanted nothing more than to take care of Finn and Luke too, when he had woken to Finn's cries he had hesitated at first, not wanting to overstep any boundaries, but he was resolute now that he had made the right decision.

With Grogu he had tried to ward off the growing attachment, always referring to him as _the_ kid and not _his_ kid. The knowledge that he would have to give Grogu up had terrified him into denying their connection for longer than he should have. When Grogu had been taken by Gideon then Din had been unable to hold back his attachment and it had hit him so much harder than he was prepared for. He wouldn’t make that mistake with Finn and Luke, he knew and accepted he was already becoming attached to them too. Despite the fact Luke was clearly a formidable warrior, Din still felt the desperate need to protect him too. 

Din had realised he wasn’t actually all that good at the lone bounty hunter role, well the bounty hunting he was obviously pretty decent at but the lone part? He had somehow picked up numerous allies and then friends on his travels without even meaning to. 

Without his covert he was more and more grateful for this fact, the thought of having no one to return to was a lonely one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a bit longer, I rearranged some stuff that was meant to be this chapter but has now been moved to the next  
> Hope you still enjoyed it!


	5. Chapter 5

“You don’t have to agree to this” Luke reassured, “They won’t be offended, they already understand that you don’t take your helmet off in front of other people”

Din  _ had  _ initially been a bit unsure about agreeing to the dinner with the Dameron family they had spoken to four days ago but Luke had been double-checking Din’s decision practically all day. If anything, Luke seemed more nervous than Din himself which had strangely been what had reassured him the most as Luke had more than over-prepared for the evening.

“It's fine Luke, I don’t mind.” Din insisted, trying to convince Luke for definite this time around, “I took the creed a long time ago, I’m used to it - I don’t mind not eating whilst everyone else is, I can just have something before or after we go.”

_Unless,_ Din’s subconscious prompted unhelpfully, Luke was trying to convey he didn’t want Din there? But was too polite to outright say so?

“Do you still want me to come with you? They’re your friends after all?” 

Luke looked panicked “Yes! Of course, I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. We didn't give you much choice in the matter earlier.”

His genuine panic at his questioning being misinterpreted was enough to convince Din that he had made the right choice in agreeing. If he could only get Luke to accept that.

“In that case, we’re going,” Din concluded.

“Okay, okay - great” Luke looked more than a little relieved and thankfully did not push the topic any further.

  
  
  
  


* * *

Luke hadn’t really been properly introduced to Kes until after the war, being a pilot Luke had known Shara first and had only known Kes by her anecdotes.

His previous visits had cemented his friendship with Shara’s husband, Kes Dameron was a kind and intelligent man, an excellent cook, and an amateur painter as of lately. He had taken to Din as a fellow man of few words almost immediately after their introduction.

The four adults had made conversation, mostly centered around the kids, to Luke’s relief. This was an easy topic for Din who was usually reluctant to answer any more personal questions. 

Through the open doorway, a chattering Poe lead his two new followers around the living room, pointing out various toys of his with a brief description and passing them to Grogu when he reached for them. He did not seem perturbed by the one-sided conversation. Grogu followed him around the room happily enough, arms full of toys, with Finn crawling not far behind occasionally stopping to investigate the toys that Grogu had dropped - unable to balance them all at once. They were only successfully summoned to the dining room by the promise of food as Kes set the table.

  
  
  


As they ate, Poe kept Din occupied with a barrage of questions, mostly about his armour and what it was made of. Din humoured the young boy for the most part as Luke listened to the exchange fondly whilst making an effort to keep his gaze on feeding Finn spoonfuls of mashed yam without looking like he was too obviously invested in their conversation.

“Could a wampa break it?”

“No”   
  


“A rancor?”

“No”

“A lightsaber?”

“No”

“Woah” Poe gaped, stunned to silence for  _ almost _ three whole seconds. “Has a rancor ever  _ tried  _ to break it though?”

“No, but a mudhorn and a krayt dragon have” Din admitted sheepishly, the ‘amongst others’ was clearly implied.

Luke turned his head towards Din in shock, Shara and Kes had stopped eating to stare at Din too.

“Wait, a krayt dragon??”

“Uh…” Din faltered. The table entirely focused on him as they began trying to convince him to tell  _ that  _ story.

  
  
  
  


Din had taken his food on the back porch afterwards, left in peace for a little bit as Luke accepted another glass of firewhiskey from Kes whilst the kids had decided for some reason to sit  _ under  _ the table in some game Luke didn’t understand. He realised halfway into his third glass that this was clearly a ploy to get more information out of him, Shara could rival his sister in her ability to weasel secrets from him.

“When did you meet him again?” Shara prompted, Luke was pretty sure he  _ hadn’t _ mentioned how he’d met Din before.

“Four months ago, on an Imperial cruiser” Luke deadpanned.

Kes chuckled, “Romantic”

“Oh…  _ shush _ ” Luke was sure he normally would’ve had a better come back than that however he would blame it on being just a little bit tipsy that he didn’t.

“Would make a good story for a wedding speech though” Shara mused,

“Shut  _ uuuuup _ ” Luke groaned. He was sure he had already specified that he and Din weren’t actually together, right?

The pair just laughed, even Finn giggled at him from beneath the table. 

Luke put his forehead against the table in defeat, only to be saved miraculously from further questioning by the sound of the back door and Din returning.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Sensing they would need to set off back soon before it got too late Luke began to thank his friends and began to say goodbye, Grogu looked like he was falling asleep on his feet and Shara was now trying to convince Poe to finish saying goodbye too and go put his pajamas on for bed. Both Kes and Shara shook Din’s hand sincerely and thanked him for joining them, Shara said something else to Din that Luke couldn’t quite catch but Din’s flustered thanks in response made Luke giggle. He was unfortunately tipsy enough to let the giggle escape but not drunk enough not to be internally embarrassed about it. Though his face was probably already red from the alcohol anyway.

Luke was rather thankful that Din was nearby when he stood up a little too quickly - he just needed a moment to regain his balance as he leant his cheek against the cool beskar pauldron.

Din’s hand stayed firmly on the small of his back as he guided him to the passenger side of the speeder, giving him a hand up and politely not commenting on Luke’s wobbly entrance. Finn was placed into his lap a moment later, his eyes were drooping closed and Luke placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head, smiling serenely. A blanket was handed to the pair of them before Din and Grogu climbed in too. 

There was nothing more sobering than the cool air as the speeder whipped through the trees but it wasn’t unpleasant. Given the house was a good few hours from the settlement Luke gradually found himself closer to sober and to his relief a lot less giggly than he had been, though no less close to falling asleep. 

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  


Finn and Grogu slept peacefully in the other rooms upon their return, it was late enough that Luke sat besides Din at the table with a cup of tea. Din considered returning to his room given he could take his helmet off there and rest more comfortably but truth be told he had missed Luke’s chatter whilst he’d been away and he was reluctant to cut their evening short despite how tired he was. Talking to Luke provided a pleasant distraction from his own thoughts.

Right now Luke was telling Din about Leia’s baby, born last week only a couple of days before her due date. 

“Once they’re settled properly I’d like to visit them on Chandrila” Luke explained, “Maybe in a few weeks or next month. You’re welcome to take Grogu, or stay here with him. I can leave Finn with the Dameron's”

“Not taking him with you?” Din questioned.

Luke sighed, “I prefer to keep him away from the spotlight… The press on Chandrila can be a bit much y’know?”

Din didn’t know, not really, he stayed far away from the core planets as a general rule but he could of course relate to wanting to keep a low profile.

“Oh, because of the rebellion.” Din assumed.

As the New Republic’s capital, Din supposed veterans of the rebellion were probably well known there.

“Yes…” Luke hesitated, “Din... do you know what I  _ did _ in the rebellion?” he asked cautiously.

"Pilot?" Din guessed, given the X-wing, "and Jedi stuff too, I guess" that made sense. 

Luke looked surprised though. "Well, yes, pretty much" he hesitated "- I fired the shots that took out the first death star. Then I trained as a Jedi and I was on the second death star, 'escaped just before it was destroyed."

_ Oh. _

Din wasn’t sure why he hadn’t made the connection that Luke would obviously have played a major role in the rebellion. He’d seen the Jedi in action after all and a man that powerful and that selfless would obviously have done all he could in the fight against the Empire. Luke just seemed so young sometimes, it was hard to picture him at the heart of all the fighting.

"How did you escape?” 

Luke looked down at the table in front of him, hands together, “Vader died to save me, killed the Emperor… That's how I survived”

“Why?” Din asked before he could stop himself. Everything Din had heard about Vader had portrayed him as a cruel and merciless man.

Luke pushed a hand through his hair, he looked stressed, but before Din could offer him an exit to the conversation Luke answered him.

“He was my father, a Jedi who turned to the dark side before I was born” Luke almost whispered.

He looked troubled, Din had suspected after his conversation with both Luke and Leia that their pasts were complicated in order to have been separated and raised apart from each other. The truth was clearly far more complex than Din had imagined.

The Jedi waited nervously for Din’s delayed reaction.

“Your father’s mistakes are not yours to make up for. You are your own person.” Din hoped Luke already knew that - most of the time he probably did. However, he was clearly reassured to hear that Din agreed with the sentiment.

Whilst Din could admit he had numerous issues with trust, particularly with droids, he still trusted Luke, the Mandalorians were firm in their belief of choosing family. 

Hell, Din was even gradually improving with trusting droids, mostly in thanks to IG-11 he had come to accept the help of Peli’s maintenance droids and now Luke’s astromech who he had started to accept was a reliable babysitter. 

  
  


“I know that really, it's just a worry that I’ll make the same mistakes. My father started out as a good man too” Luke explained,

Vader’s actions were so far from the selfless man in front of Din though, “You’re clearly doing everything you can not to follow that path.”

Luke sighed, tired, “I hope so…” 

Not knowing what else to say that hadn’t been said already Din patted his hand gently but awkwardly, in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. Luke offered him a small smile in return.

  
  
  
  
  


When the sun rose again and Luke was presumably sleeping-in a little, Din started his morning finishing up some maintenance on his ship, it had gotten a little battered on his last job. 

_ Ugh,  _ his last job. 

Din retrieved the darksaber from where he had sealed it away in his ship months ago. There was no use putting it off any longer, the longer he waited the more likely others would find out he had it and come looking. Bo-Katan and the others must have kept it quiet for now as it was in their best interests but it wouldn’t be forever. He needed advice and if anyone could offer some then Luke would be his first choice. He sighed, resigned, and trudged up the hill back towards the house.

  
  
  


Din placed the darksaber on the kitchen table, disgruntled. 

Luke blinked, stunned. “It’s a lightsaber?”

“A Mandalorian version of one. Tradition states the wielder is ruler of Mandalore” Din grumbled.

“ _ So _ ….” Luke raised his eyebrows.

“Unfortunately.” Din sighed. “I’ve been trying to get rid of it”

When Luke didn’t reply DIn explained further, “Bo-Katan wants it to reunite the Mandalorian clans and return them to Mandalore.”

_ “But?”  _

“ _ But _ she won’t just take it from me” Din sighed heavily, “she said last time she was given it she had the support of several clans, those who were strongly against the Empire at the time, but she doesn’t believe they will accept her rule again if she hasn’t won it back. Once the Empire took it from her she felt she lost the right to wield it and now her pride is stopping her from just accepting it back.”

“So what will you do now you’re ruler of Mandalore then?”

“I want nothing to do with this. Mandalore is in ruins and if Bo-Katan wants to try and reunite the Mandalorians without inciting another civil war then I’d much rather her than me” Din scowled, he’d just wanted his kid back. “The last thing I wanted was this responsibility.”

  
  


Luke turned the saber hilt over in his hand a few times after inspecting the blade.

“Trouble does seem to find you anyway” Luke observed.

Din scoffed, “You would know”

“I  _ go looking _ for trouble, that's different,” the Jedi corrected smugly.

Din shook his head and huffed in amusement, “Yeah, well, you're very good at it”

“Thank you”  Luke beamed before returning his focus to the darksaber.  “How will you get rid of the darksaber then? If you don’t want to wield it?” He asked.

Din sighed, 

“That's the catch - Bo-Katan won’t fight me for it until I've trained with the darksaber. She wants a fair fight, to honorably challenge me as its wielder and win it.”

Luke nodded in contemplation.

Din knew the Armorer would probably tell him to keep it, preserve Mandalore's culture, but Din did not want the weight it carried. He’d been responsible for his covert and they'd all but been entirely destroyed protecting him. The only logical path he could see was to lose it and for that, he would have to start actually using the saber to fight.

  
  
  


Luke cut through his train of thoughts, piercing blue eyes meeting Din’s even through his visor.

“I could train you” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was watching rebels again the other day so thats my take on why bo-katan won't accept being given the saber this time, i think she may have lost the support of remaining clan members after the purge and she probably feels she's failed again so she was set on winning the darksaber back this time to get their respect back
> 
> (might have to re-edit this tomorrow morning, but enjoy!)
> 
> And an extra treat https://missuniverse1000bc.tumblr.com/post/644205325877116928/missuniverse1000bc-little-poe-grogu-and-finn


	6. Chapter 6

Din had been on Yavin for almost a whole month now, Luke felt slightly guilty for how grateful he was that Din had unintentionally won the darksaber as it had given Din an excuse to stay on a much more permanent basis.

In the mornings they got up, dressed, and fed the children before Luke took Grogu for his training whilst Din stayed with Finn, either joining them to watch or remaining in the house depending on the day. They would break for lunch before getting Finn and Grogu to nap with R2 on watch duty as Din and Luke left to train nearby.

Training with Din was very different from training with Grogu and even more so than his own training with Ben or Yoda.

Din already knew how to use a blade but the darksaber had a history and a connection to the force through its own kyber crystal and Din's reluctance to accept the weight of the blade made it difficult for him to truly connect with it.

Their sparring sessions had lead to some improvement but Luke was struggling to convey the importance of making a connection and letting go of Din’s fear of the responsibility the blade brought.

"Even though your end goal is to pass it on to do that you have to let go of your fear of wielding it now." He tried to explain again.

"Easier said than done" Din huffed.

"I know, I know." Luke admitted, "You'll get to that point though. You're not doing  _ badly  _ right now it's just stopping you from doing great. You hold back compared to when you fight with your spear"

Din sighed but nodded resolutely.

“Once more then we’ll break for today,” Luke announced, drawing his own saber once again.

  
  


Din’s movements were fluid, his style much less defensive than Luke’s own - given the beskar armor that made sense. Luke committed to dodging and blocking his swings, patiently waiting for a good opening. In fairness to Din, even with his focus on a barrage of attacks he left Luke few opportunities to return a good hit. He relied on waiting Din out which meant their fights dragged on until Luke finally spotted his moment to gain the upper hand and lunged forwards.

His blade stopped right below Din’s helmet where in a real fight it would have met the gap between Din’s helmet and his cuirass, he held still as the blade hummed between them.

The sound of the darksaber being disarmed echoed in Luke’s ears in a wordless acceptance of defeat. 

The moment was broken, Luke put his own saber away whilst breathing deeply.

“Good match, Jedi” Din commented roughly, his voice was hoarse even through the modulator but respect filled his tone and Luke was pleased to take pride in that.

  
  
  
  
  


Back indoors Luke took a long gulp of water from the glass Din had poured him upon returning to the kitchen. He had been expecting Din to excuse himself to go get changed and drink his own water, which he was currently just holding where he stood rigidly. It was harder to tell due to the beskar and dark flight suit Din wore underneath but if Luke’s pale green fatigues were sticking to his skin with sweat and in this level of humidity then Din must be boiling.

Din made no move to leave though, he remained stock still the other side of the table even as Luke placed his glass in the sink and turned to fully face him. He ran a hand through his damp hair awkwardly before he finally felt like he had to break the silence. 

"When I get back from Chandrila we'll continue training" 

Din finally moved his head a fraction, pulled out of whatever trance he’d been in.

"Uh, If that's okay with you?"

"Of course" Luke replied genuinely.

"I know you probably want to get back to focusing on Grogu, and I don't want to get in the way of his learning by distracting you or taking time away from your son either" Din mumbled, he sounded so sure that this was the truth that Luke was concerned about how often he’d told himself that their training must be a chore for Luke.

Luke responded firmly "Din I  _ want _ to teach you, I can teach both of you and still spend time with Finn too, it's not a problem” he insisted.

Din remained quiet, unsure.

"I like having you here and I like training you - I enjoy your company" Luke flustered, he didn't know how else to convince Din this was true if he wouldn’t accept his word for it.

This at least seemed to surprise (pleasantly?) and finally convince Din. 

"And I enjoy yours. I just... appreciate what you’re doing for me, and for Grogu by letting me stay here - is what I'm trying to say"

"You're welcome here, I promise" Luke affirmed, "this can be your home too if you want it to be" 

It practically already was but Luke wasn’t sure if Din thought of it that way.

  
  


Din nodded determinedly, "I do"

Luke could feel the accompanying burst of affection from Din through the Force, it was too blatant to brush aside or confuse for his own feelings this time. 

He'd felt attraction from many people before, there was no point being modest about that, but romantic interest was much rarer other than a few fleeting crushes here and there and it was harder to determine - especially when it was so gradual, the shift from platonic love and affection to something else was harder to pinpoint.

  
  


"Din…" Luke tried to start,  _ did his additional insight make him responsible for making the first move?  _

"I hope you know I care for you... and not just as a friend" he added cautiously, completely attuned to Din’s Force-signature for anything other than the initial surprise that took over at first.

Din stepped towards him purposefully and Luke held his breath.

"It's the same for me - I… I care about you too" 

His reply was so sincere that Luke exhaled sharply, relieved and thrilled and a little bit nervous. 

Maybe it wasn't the most dramatic or extravagant declaration in the galaxy but the now-spoken acceptance that there really was something developing between the two of them was a relief to Luke. To have it confirmed that Din had felt the change in their dynamic too, that it wasn't just in his head made him almost dizzy. 

Din stumbled forward enough that Luke could reach out for him, his hands on Din’s forearms as he let out a soft disbelieving laugh. Din leant the top of his helmet against Luke’s forehead and held them there, he was close enough now that Luke could hear his shaky breathing too when he relaxed into the embrace.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke, dressed in his flight suit and helmet, prepared to climb up into the cockpit of his X-wing. Din watched him, Grogu in one arm against his chest and Finn in the other resting his head against a pauldron. 

Even though Luke had offered to leave Finn with Shara, Din had insisted he could watch both children whilst Luke visited his sister. Din knew their schedule and was good with Finn, Luke had no worries about that, but the pair could be a lot when they outnumbered Luke - it was much easier to manage them when Din was present too. Din had seemed certain though.

Luke stroked Grogu’s ear, sending a wave of reassurance that he would be back soon and to keep meditating whilst he was gone through their Force-bond. Grogu purred happily as Luke kissed the top of his head before turning to kiss Finn’s forehead in farewell. When he looked up again he was staring right at Din’s visor, almost level with it.

Din leant forward slowly, touching their helmets together in his own goodbye. Luke sighed,

“If you need anything comm me, I’ll come right back-” he promised.

“I know,”

“-And you know how to reach Shara and Kes too just in case?” 

“I know, Luke,” Din assured, kindly humouring his fretting.

  
  


Luke sighed, “Okay, right, well take care Din, I’ll see you soon” he finally moved away to actually get into his ship.

“Let me know when you land safely,  _ ret'urcye mhi _ ” Din replied, with what Luke assumed was Mando'a for goodbye, he gave one last wave from the cockpit before firing up the engines.

  
  
  
  


* * *

Din watched the ship grow smaller for longer than was really reasonable before he returned inside.

He was aiming to keep their usual schedule fairly consistent, breakfast took a little longer than usual as Din tried to carry Grogu who insisted on his attention, keep Finn entertained in his high chair,  _ and  _ make something for them both to eat. After cleaning up the pair of messy eaters Din brought them outside.

“Right,” Din instructed Grogu “Luke said you needed to do your Jedi thing”

Grogu tilted his head and cooed. Granted, Din would have no way of knowing whether Grogu was actually meditating or not but it would have to do. He was satisfied when Grogu sat, resuming the position he had taken on the rock on Typhon and in many of the training sessions with Luke that Din had observed.

Din sat opposite his son and bounced Finn in his lap, trying to keep him calm enough not to disturb the peace too much. 

  
  
  


Their schedule went to pieces after that, Grogu hadn’t tired himself out just from meditating without Luke’s extra training exercises and so he refused to nap after lunch. Finn had slept whilst Grogu meditated in the end and so was also full of energy now and would not stay still for more than a few minutes. Grogu had decided on a game that seemed to involve floating any toy that Finn crawled towards  _ just  _ out of the baby’s reach forcing Din to step in once Finn gave up and started crying.

“ _ Grogu _ ” Din scolded, Grogu cooed innocently, “Don’t torment your  _ vod _ ”

Grogu floated a wooden block into Finn’s hands as an apology, he sniffled but cheered up as he turned it in his hands. Din breathed a sigh of relief.

  
  
  
  


He elected to move Finn’s cot into his room that evening, since Din had no way of monitoring him during the night without R2 it didn’t sit right to put Finn in a room by himself, even if it was only across the corridor. Luke hadn’t decided to put Finn in his own separate room during the night yet and so Din didn’t want to make that decision either - even temporarily.

He placed Finn in his cot and Grogu in his, usually, he would talk quietly about something or other until Grogu dozed off. It wasn’t quite a bedtime story but Grogu seemed to find his ramblings soothing. Tonight Din carefully told the pair about the colours of Mandalorian armour and their meanings until he could see they had both dropped off to sleep.

  
  


Not long after they had settled down the comm unit on his wrist beeped -  _ Luke _

Slipping silently out into the corridor, letting the door close softly behind him Din rushed to answer the call.

"You made it alright?” he checked.

“Hi Din,” Luke laughed “yeah, all in one piece”

“Good. Did you see your sister yet?”

Luke hummed, “It's a few hours till sunrise at the moment, I won’t wake her yet” he explained.

Hearing from Luke was a relief, Din had been initially nervous that their conversation the day before would mean he was supposed to act differently somehow but he was pleased to find their chatter flowed just like before. 

“I can call again tomorrow? Around the same time?”

“Please” Din requested.

“Okay, good night Din, talk to you tomorrow”

“Good night - well Good Morning I suppose” Din only hoped Luke would actually get  _ some _ sleep given that he’d essentially missed a regular night’s sleep, travelling all day only to arrive at what was already morning on Chandrila. 

Din returned to the room and took off most of his beskar, he could sleep in his helmet tonight, whilst Finn was also in the room, he had slept like that more times than he could count on past jobs anyway. 

  
  
  
  


He did just that, for the first four and a half days that Luke was away until the evening of the fifth when Din had comm'd Luke as usual and assured him that everything was fine, Finn had slept through the night and Grogu had kind-of meditated that morning, then napped and then levitated all the bowls and plates when Din had tried to clean up first instead of prioritising getting dessert out (Luke had been equal parts impressed and amused at that last one).

After ending the call he paused when Grogu, in his arms after hearing Luke's voice, reached up and tapped at his helmet - wanting Din to take it off like usual now they were in their room. Finn was already fast asleep right now but, still, he could easily wake at any moment and see Din’s face which would go against the Creed.

_ Not that he hadn’t already broken it anyway - more than once now, _ the most cynical part of his brain provided. 

Thoughts of his creed had troubled him for months. He wanted badly to continue to hold onto it, it was such a strong part of him, but it had seemed so clear-cut before and now it was not. He had justified doing what he had to do to rescue Grogu, a foundling in his care but on the Moff’s ship he had no excuse. He just wanted Grogu to see his face before he left, to see Grogu without his visor. 

He knew he would never be like the other Mandalorians, who were steadfast in their identity despite removing their helmets frequently but whilst his introduction to them had been confusing and jarring to his worldview he could accept their differing interpretation of the Way. He could even begrudgingly accept Bo-Katan’s stubborn adherence to the darksaber’s code, she had her own beliefs she could not sway from now - a need to justify to herself that she would be the rightful ruler if she won the sword in combat this time. 

Din would not abandon his creed altogether, but he no longer felt the guilt he had done before when he removed his helmet and sat in his room here on Yavin with Grogu beside him. He had spontaneously made an exception for his clan that day and he did not regret it truly, it was an adjustment to his creed that he had come to accept.

He wasn't sure exactly what convinced him of his current decision, maybe the lack of pressure since Finn was already peacefully asleep and even if he did wake up he was too young to understand the gravity of the decision but Din carefully removed his helmet, and held his breath.

He felt strange, but not uneasy and the guilt he expected did not arrive.

He let out a soft breath of relief, he felt fine, everything was alright - the same really. The thought of doing this in front of strangers still made him nauseous but this? It felt right.

He pictured taking his helmet off like this around Luke - the feeling was different, it wasn't bad but it wasn't relaxing like this. More of a nervous anticipation, he  _ wanted _ to be able to look at Luke without his helmet, to kiss him too, but Luke would actually understand what that  _ meant _ for Din and he wasn't used to being that open with his emotions. It felt vulnerable.

The last time he'd been tempted to settle down like this was with Omera, when the loyalty to his tribe and the strictness of the creed had held him back. Things were different this time though, it was actually a possibility he could consider after all the change that had happened since then. If he was in this for the long run, and Din knew he was, then both Finn and Luke were undeniably becoming a part of his clan.

He could trust them with his face, his identity. 

He slept without his helmet that night, and he didn't put it back on the following morning either. Testing his limits, waiting to feel uncomfortable, but even as Finn opened his eyes and blinked widely at him the feeling didn't arrive.

They stared at each other for a few moments before Finn giggled happily and reached out to feel Din's mustache curiously. Din chuckled and hugged him close to his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand luke confesses right before having to leave for a week, which is on par with my poor timing so can't judge tbf
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this one!


	7. Chapter 7

Breha Organa-Solo was tiny. Given the circumstances of his adoption, Luke had missed the newborn stage with Finn and so he had spent the better part of the week on Chandrila being constantly surprised by just how small Breha was. A fact that was currently emphasised even more so due to Chewie being the one holding her right now.

In the other room, Leia was sleeping, and Luke was glad for it - he'd felt her exhaustion as soon as he arrived. Both Han and Leia were yet to get back to a full night's sleep so far and whilst Han was awake he was barely so, eyes dropping closed and propping his head against his elbow on the arm of the plush sofa in his and Leia's sleek city apartment.

Fortunately for the new parents, Chewie was probably the best babysitter they could have on hand, he was calm and particularly gentle when it came to kids - he had been the same with Finn too when Luke was first getting used to looking after a young baby and Grogu had instantly been a fan of him too when Leia and Chewie had visited last time. _Perhaps it was the fur?_

"When _did_ you get so good with kids?" Luke asked his friend once the curiosity got the better of him. From what Luke already knew Chewie had been something of a military leader during the Clone Wars before becoming a smuggler and then resistance fighter but there was a lot he didn’t know about the Wookiee’s past.

Chewie growled softly enough that he wouldn’t wake Breha. His only answer was his homeworld, Kashyyk, before the Empire began and so Luke chose not to press further.

“Bets on who she’ll take after the most?” Luke changed topics instead.

Chewie gestured to the messy tuft of light brown hair on Breha’s head and suggested Han. 

“I dunno,” Luke contemplated mock-seriously “aren’t all babies kind of scruffy-looking though?” 

Chewie chuckled.

  
  
  


"...’not scruffy-looking" a defiant voice objected from the sofa. Han rubbed his eyes slowly as he sat up straighter in defiance.

"Oh you're still with us are you?" Luke teased.

"...'m awake" Han insisted, "and I know when I'm being insulted by my so-called best friends" he grumbled.

His shirt still had baby sick on it and, despite his protests, Leia would have agreed he looked even more scruffy-looking than usual so his half-hearted glare didn't quite have the effect he was intending.

Chewie distracted him instead by handing his daughter over. Luke sensed the undercurrent of nerves that still came from Han however he seemed to have adjusted pretty well to taking care of Breha, he had certainly prepared for it. Back when Luke had first found Finn, Leia had been in the early stages of her own pregnancy. Han had teased Luke for being such an over-cautious parent with Finn but despite his blase attitude then, by the end of the visit, Luke had caught Han studiously reading one of the parenting advice books from his own small collection - though Han would never have admitted to it at the time.

Luke glanced down at the comm unit on his wrist whilst the others were distracted, checking for any missed calls just in case. It was mostly out of habit as he had already spoken to Din early that morning and it would be late by now on Yavin 4 but he couldn’t help but wonder how Din was doing. He’d sounded fine of course but it was hard to tell over long-range comm calls, it would be nice to have a proper conversation once he returned.

  
  
  


“So who’s this Mando guy you have the hots for?” Han smirked. Luke snapped his head up from where he’d been staring wistfully at his wrist-comm. Han must have just enough energy to spare for teasing Luke after all...

“Did Leia tell you that?” Luke sighed.

“Didn’t have to, Kid” Han laughed, “but alright she did tell me a little, yeah” he admitted.

Luke suspected ‘a little’ was actually a very detailed account of her last visit probably with input from Chewie too. They were honestly all such terrible gossips, the whole lot of them.

“So, any luck with that?” he prompted.

Luke rolled his eyes, tempted to deny on instinct. Though perhaps if his brother-in-law didn’t think he was quite so totally hopeless it would reduce the level of ridicule he was sure to get. 

“I mean, _yes_ but it's recent okay - that's the only update you’re getting” he settled on.

Han raised his eyebrows, at least somewhat impressed. Though the surprise wasn’t exactly flattering to Luke’s ego. It wasn’t like he couldn’t talk to guys, he was definitely a decent flirt - honestly, he just usually had other concerns. _Jedi stuff._ That was all.

“He treats you well though?” Han checked.

Luke barely refrained from rolling his eyes again, “Yes Han, he treats me just fine”

“Just checking,” he shrugged “y’know what bounty hunters can be like” and, well, Luke supposed that was a fair point given Han’s past experience with them.

  
  


In the afternoon after being pulled into a hug by all three of them and holding baby Breha one last time Luke finally climbed back into his X-wing, Din was expecting him either tomorrow or the day after anyway so he didn’t try to call again. He would see him soon enough anyway.

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


The sound of Luke’s X-wing lowering was second to Finn and Grogu’s intuitive responses. They perked up and were headed towards the door with such purpose that Din already knew Luke must have entered the atmosphere before he heard the telltale sound of the engines.

He still had chance to return to his room before Luke landed, his helmet wasn’t far away - just beside his bed in case he needed it. However, he had already planned to try removing it around Luke upon his return - maybe it was best to rip the bacta-patch off now? That way it would be before he started overthinking how to broach the topic. He considered the idea, stalling for a moment, and eventually, he turned back towards the front door, trusting that his instincts had served him well so far.

Decidedly, and before Grogu could attempt to unlock the door himself, Din intercepted the pair by scooping them both up into his arms. They wiggled excitedly, encouraging Din to hurry up through their eagerness.

  
  


The whooshing of the trees indicated Luke’s landing and, not wanting to delay their reunion any longer than necessary, Din made his mind up for certain. Taking a deep breath, made easier without the helmet, he made his way down the hill hoping his firm steps and tall stance would give him the confidence he didn’t quite feel.

As Din came to a stop beside the now-stationary X-Wing he could tell the exact moment Luke clocked him. He flung the hatch open with enthusiasm only to stumble on his descent - doing a visible double-take. 

The astonished Jedi stuck a just-about-passable landing as he leapt down from the ship but Din didn’t say anything as he approached, wanting to gauge Luke’s reaction instead. He handed Finn and Grogu over silently first, they had reached out for Luke as soon as he stepped within a few feet of them.

Luke opened and closed his mouth twice but didn’t manage to decide on whatever it was he wanted to say on the first two attempts. “ _Hi_ ” he eventually settled on, his voice sounded warm with affection and thankfully, was absent of any of the disappointment Din had feared.

Din placed a gloved hand on the back of Luke’s neck in response, Luke didn’t have any hands free with Grogu and Finn held in each arm but he leant his forehead against Din’s naturally. It was entirely different without a helmet in the way and it brought their faces far closer together than Din had anticipated.

“This is new?” Luke questioned softly into the space between them. Din smiled nervously, “It felt like the right decision.”

Luke worried at his lower lip. “Does it still?”

_Did it still feel like the right decision?_ Din considered.

“Yes,” he answered easily.

He watched Luke's gentle smile in response before he let his eyes fall closed for a moment, trying to hold onto the embrace for as long as possible. He only relented and pulled back once he could feel Finn and Grogu squirming for attention too. He rubbed the tip of Grogu’s ear gently and smiled as the little womp rat snuggled up against Luke’s chest. Finn was similarly clutching at the front of his father’s flight suit and Din brushed the top of his head gently too.

Placing his hand on Luke’s back he guided them back inside the house where the kettle would need reboiling for two.

  
  


“Did you guys behave whilst I was gone?” Luke glanced between the two babies perched on his legs, his arms around their stomachs. They both smiled innocently up at him.

“For the most part” Din answered for them, resting his chin in his hand with his elbow propped on the table across from them. 

Luke kept glancing over at him, but every time they made eye contact Luke would look away quickly like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to look for any longer than that. Din, however, was being much less discrete about openly staring at Luke now that he had no visor in his way. 

Perhaps the attention was what was making Luke fidgety, Din realised. He was used to staring without anyone knowing what he was looking at and that habit was hard to snap out of, although Luke had always been better than most at reading him with a helmet on anyway, which was just another Force-thing Din presumed. He resolved to make a conscious effort to stare less obviously, instead splitting his attention between the kids as well as Luke whilst he sipped his tea. 

  
  
  
  


Both cribs were still in Din’s room by the evening when Grogu and Finn finally grew tired. Luke put Finn in his crib next to Grogu’s without commenting or suggesting he move it back into his own room though. Din was relieved, this way it gave himself and Luke a chance to talk properly whilst they could easily watch both children - as long as they kept their voices down.

Din sat on the edge of his bed, legs over the side. He awkwardly patted next to him when Luke hovered, unsure, in the middle of the room. 

Was Luke unsure about where they stood now? After his conversation with Ahsoka at first Din hadn’t really been sure if Jedi actually _did_ relationships of any kind until Luke had said something before he left. Though admitting he cared about Din romantically wasn’t necessarily the same as officially wanting a relationship… Not that Din was unhappy with how things stood at the moment, being able to trust Luke and know that his feelings were returned whilst having a home here with Grogu and Finn too was what mattered most to him.

 _But,_ if Luke was interested in a relationship then Din would be more than receptive to that. Broaching that topic was not really something Din had experience in though, the few times it had happened in the past he’d not been the one to start that kind of conversation.

Once Luke sat down next to him, their shoulders brushing, Din began tentatively, “I never asked - the other Jedi lady, she said Grogu was too attached to me and that she wouldn’t train him because of it…”

He hadn’t asked before because he hadn’t wanted Luke to change his mind - not after Din had been allowed to see Grogu again, and regularly, when he had expected not to be able to for years at the very least.

“The _other_ Jedi?” Luke looked baffled,

“ _Ahsoka Tano_ , Bo-Katan directed me to her” Din quickly filled in, “-I’m sure we could go and find her again” he added at Luke’s hopeful expression. Din should have realised sooner that if the remaining Jedi were spread even more thin than the surviving Mandalorians then of course Luke would want to find more of his kind.

“Please” Luke breathed, then, regaining his composure “Sorry- to answer your question the old Jedi Order were like a family but they had rules against attachments outside of the Order, they believed it lead to possessiveness and fear which could turn a Jedi to the dark side”

“Are you not worried about that too?” Din questioned cautiously.   
  


Luke shook his head firmly, to Din’s relief. 

“No, in my own experience my relationships have often been what saved me - what motivated me to do good and to see good in people. As long as I am willing to love unselfishly and to let go when I need to then I don’t think attachments are wrong. For Grogu either - he gets strength from your bond, he felt safe enough to start using the Force again because he was with you”

“ _Oh,_ ” was all Din managed to say, that meant Luke was serious before - when he had said this could be Din’s home too. That it was safe for him to stay, not just as an occasional guest.

“The old Jedi Order is gone and my training was in no way traditional, I want to research and preserve its legacy as much as I can but what I rebuild will not be the same as it. It will be something new.” Luke continued, he’d clearly thought about this a lot.

“So this is… I mean - we’re good?” Din fumbled, reaching out for Luke’s gloved hand and hoping his point was clear enough.

Luke beamed and squeezed his hand, “We’re good” he ran his fingers through Din’s hair cautiously. Din hummed and closed his eyes on reflex, leaning into Luke’s caress. 

He could feel Luke moving in closer, his breath light against his lips but somehow the kiss was still surprising. Surprising because it was new mostly and also because it was still a little hard to believe this was real - that Din had been allowed to have this. That first kiss was merely a light press of lips as Luke pulled back cautiously. When Din finally blinked his eyes open he brushed beneath Luke’s jaw with the pad of his thumb. He stroked the skin there until he’d worked up the courage to try again, taking his time and drawing Luke in for a slower and more certain kiss.

Luke’s hands returned to his hair eagerly and Din sighed softly against his mouth, still cupping his face with one hand and letting the other rest on Luke’s back between his shoulder blades, bunching the soft fabric of his robes there.

Luke pressed against him, leaning more of his weight into the kiss. Din shuffled backwards blindly so that he could pull his feet up onto the bed with his back against the headboard and pull Luke with him. Luke got the idea and followed, trying to get comfortable besides Din. Their transition wasn’t the smoothest and after Luke pulled back to avoid the pauldron that was probably digging into his chest Din decided it was probably wise to remove his outer armour.

He was methodical and careful as he placed his armour piece by piece onto the table beside the bed, same as always, and Luke watched him patiently.

Din was reminded of that night months ago when he had comforted Luke in his room, as similarly tonight Luke turned onto his side so he could rest his head against Din’s shoulder - being able to tuck his head beneath Din’s chin this time without the helmet in the way. The dark blonde strands of hair tickled as he placed a kiss on the top of Luke’s head.

They stayed like that as the evening grew later until Din was even starting to suspect that Luke had fallen asleep. The Jedi was still awake though, enough that he eventually stretched his legs out, tangling them with Din’s and spreading out so he was almost on top of him. It was too narrow for them both to lie on their backs and it was a compromise that Din wasn’t complaining about. It _was_ still a little bit of a tight squeeze for two grown men though either way.

“Maybe single beds weren’t the best idea” he mumbled into Luke’s hair.

Luke huffed a laugh against his chest, “Well, forgive me, but I didn’t exactly expect this outcome when I was first fixing the place up”

Din shut his eyes, “It’s okay, I don’t mind cuddling” for now. They would definitely want a proper double if this was a regular thing. Din had slept in his fair share of weird and cramped places but now he didn’t have to it would be nice to be able to spread out comfortably with Luke next to him. Tonight this suited him just fine though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the weeks just go by so fast at the moment... next week's update should be the last chapter though so I hope you've enjoyed so far - thanks for the lovely comments on the last chapter

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I have ideas for more to come...
> 
> I've messed with the timings here, in terms of how old Finn would be and also Poe in potential future chapters, but its an AU so i've decided to just do whatever. Also I don't know many babies so I've had to google a lot of baby milestones and development stages so you may have to forgive me for that


End file.
